FLORIDA, (United States) .- The state of Florida surpassed its own record for daily coronavirus infections, as it advances its criticized economic reopening plan. On July 12, 15,300 new cases were reported, which broke previous highs of 11,694 recorded by California last week and 11,571 reported by New York on April 15. Florida so far has reported a record 11,400 and a historic 120 daily deaths from the pandemic, including two minors with underlying illness.
“With Florida largely open for business, I don’t expect this increase to slow down,” said Natalie E. Dean, assistant professor of biostatistics at the University of Florida. The governor Ron DeSantis who awards the increase in cases to young people who have failed to comply with public health standards, also dismissed backing down the reopening of the state and closing businesses. The Republican official also defended the return of children to schools next September, as demanded by President Donald Trump.
Governor DeSantis said districts across the state will handle back to school very differently; be it having a traditional teaching in person or schools that continue on all digital platforms. “My children are three, two and newborns, so they are too young to go to school now, but if they were 7, 6 and 5 years old, I would have no problem, I would see it incredibly low risk,” he said during a Press conference. He insisted that parents should be able to choose what they think is best for their children.
Miami-Dade County is the point with the highest number of coronavirus cases: 60,868. In response to the increase in infections, Mayor Carlos Giménez limited the indoor service in restaurants, allowing only their reopening outdoors. The decision angered some of the city mayors who said the decision was abrupt and they had not shown concrete facts to support the closures. Giménez defended his decision by claiming that restaurants are the only businesses where people must remove their masks to eat and drink and, with the current positivity rate, said it would be irresponsible for him to allow food inside.
On Saturday, July 11, the doors of the Disney theme parks reopened to the public after four months closed due to the pandemic. This despite being one of the entities with the most cases of coronavirus. On social media, an animated video celebrates the news and welcomes fans of the park. The recording shows several employees, all wearing masks, saying “Welcome home.” It was captioned: “Cast Members Are Ready To Welcome Guests Back To Walt Disney World Resort.”
Spokesmen referred to the new rules implemented in both Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the other two parks in the area, Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which will open to the general public on July 15. In addition to the use of the face mask for everyone over 2 years of age and social distancing, there will be more cleaning and disinfection in the parks and resorts. You will also have to reserve tickets and undergo temperature measurement to enter the “happiest place on Earth.”
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